Stargate:Atlantis The Alternate First Season
by Gemini-Evenstars
Summary: AU. Weir finds out she should NEVER okay things when she first wakes up, Sheppard finds out that Marlins are harder to catch than tuna, and Jerhun has a headache. Gonfalon finds pleasure in teaching Ford 'like a child'. NO SLASH!
1. And So It Begins

_Stargate: Atlantis; The Alternate First Season_

_By WeaverOfDreams777_

Rating: PG-PG13

Genre:Action/Adventure

Disclaimer: I do not own _Stargate:SG1_ or _Stargate:Atlantis_.

Warning: This story is not meant to fit the storyline set forth by the producers of Stargate. It is AU, Alternate Universe. If you don't like that, don't review. You don't have to read it.

In the premier episode of Stargate:Atlantis, the Atlantis team awakened the Wraith. Major John Sheppard feared he may have made a mistake when he tried to rescue the captives the Wraith had taken. When he killed the blue witchy Wraith chick, he awakened the rest, and made it look rather like the beehive of doom. Two or three Wraith tried to follow him through the stargate into Atlantis, but to put it nicely, they were unsuccessful.

Chapter one: And So It Begins

The thudding sounds the Wraith ships had made as they had struck the shield of the stargate were still fresh in his mind. He had cut it almost too close. Wier was giving him the eye too, so he knew he was in for it. Once the former captives were running around Atlantis in relative safety, Wier took him aside. As she turned to him to let him have it, she turned into a Wraith.

Maj. John Sheppard woke with a start. He rolled his eyes as he realized he had fallen asleep in a chair slumped over one of the cryptic consoles the Ancients had vacated. He'd heard something, he knew it. The stargate had powered up, and was swirling mystically. He guessed he must have bumped a switch or something, and tried to find it to turn it off, yawning. He knew the pessemistic techies would have his head if they found out he'd powered up the stargate. He found the the switch he'd bumped and tried to turn it off. It didn't work.

Something was overriding the controls. He blinked. Nah, he just wasn't pushing the right button, he was just overtired. Suddenly, a face appeared through the whirling blue stargate, then a person followed the face. And another, and another, and another, five people came through the stargate. Clearly, he had to be dreaming, or seeing things. Maybe Dr. Weir had drugged him or something. Yeah, that was it, a hallucinogenic drug. He was nodding to himself when the five robed people began to approach him. He reasoned that they couldn't really be there, because the controls in front of him weren't working, so he couldn't have let them in even if Wier had authorized it. A tall male with long, straight, golden hair walked gravely up to him, followed by a male with loosely curly dark hair. The curly haired one looked odd, his hair had the wierdest reddish tint to it. Another male, taller than the previous two, with skin like polished ebony, approached another console and waved his hand over it, shutting down the stargate.

Two females were bending over the sleeping guards. One had golden hair and very pale skin, the other had black hair and skin the color of caramel. John's eyes were drawn to the darker woman, her dress was such a vivid red, redder than he'd ever seen a fabric be. The dark haired male stooped beside him and reached under the console.

A few seconds later, John heard the dull hum of a generator kicking in. His attention was quickly diverted, and he looked to the males as they moved quietly through the room, flipping switches, pressing buttons, and doing essentially everything the techies had said that no one was allowed to do. John made no move to stop them, he had a feeling that all he could do was watch. The women were chattering to each other, stuffing pillows under the heads of those sacked out on the floor. Where they'd found the pillows, only heaven knows.

The ebony man touched John's shoulder.

"Come with me." rumbled his deep, distinctive voice.

John didn't dare argue. He followed the ebony man down a maze of passageways, losing track of time and direction.

"We are under the city. It has come to our attention that the generators that power the shield have failed. I shall show you how to repair them."

* * *

Dr. Weir heard footsteps by her head. She knew that everyone was asleep but the stargate guards, so what could it be? Her eye opened a slit. Her eye took in the fact that a train of rich, deep blue fabric was gliding by her. This one did not belong. She opened both eyes and looked up, she saw a man, standing beside where she lay, with his back to her. He had a panel of sort open, and was looking at a tangle of wires with deep concentration. She didn't think twice before hitting him over the head with a ratchet wrench one of the techies had left out.

He collapsed to the floor with a soft thump. Weir felt a a little guilty. She might have only knocked him out, and then again she might have mortally wounded him. Why she cared was beyond her. He had seemed so harmless though.

She knelt beside him and ran her fingers through the soft, loose curls on the back of his head, trying to make sure she hadn't broken his skull or anything of that nature. She had punctured his scalp. She felt silly for forgetting that the switch for reversing the direction of the wrench was on the side she'd clubbed him with. She took care of that, then got up to go to the stargate room. She looked back down at him and paused. She really should tie him up so he couldn't follow her. She tied his wrists and ankles, and stuffed a kerchief in his mouth for good measure. he wasn't going anywhere.

Five minutes later she came back to make sure he was still down for the count, and he was on his feet, trying to shake off the cobwebs. He looked surprised to see her. He staggered backward. Weir had a random thought that he probably considered her a crazy lady merely out to get him. She confirmed it by knocking him unconscious again with an uppercut to the lower jaw.

She heard a soft cry of dismay behind her and whirled. John was standing there with a hand to his mouth.

"Dr. Weir! Why did you do that to a non-aggressor? He wouldn't have hurt you."

"Major! Where have you been?! Where did this man come from?"

"Doctor, he belongs here. He's a physician, in fact. He wouldn't have done you or anyone else any harm. His name is Jerhun."

"What do you mean, 'he belongs here'? I did not bring him on the expedition."

The golden haired male walked up behind Major Sheppard. Weir's jaw dropped.

"I see you will be keeping Jerhun. It is well, he knows as well as I do how to repair the things here in the old city. He may be of help if you encounter the Wraith."

Dr. Weir looked doubtful.

"How will he be of help? Won't he just be wraith-fodder?"

The golden haired being smiled and shook his head.

"No, they generally leave Jerhun be. He gives them indigestion. He gets into their minds more than most."

"Thank you, Gonfalon. I'm on a need to know basis and that was something I did not need to know." John said flatly.

"Well that explains why I heard his thoughts...." Weir muttered.

* * *

Jerhun couldn't move, he was tied too tightly.

"Sorry pal, the witch herself said I couldn't untie you." a voice said softly.

Jerhun struggled to reach for the knot that dug into his wrist.

'Please! Let me go!' Major Sheppard heard it as clear as if it were spoken.

'Oh trust me, I'd love to, but you can't imagine the trouble I'd be in.' he thought.

'I can imagine, Major John Sheppard, how much trouble you would be in, but I see in your heart you don't usually strictly obey such orders anyway. You do as seemeth right unto you.'

'Get out of my head you wierdo! You don't belong there and you know it!'

'Who's to say I'm not the voice of your conscience? Or perhaps I am yourself, and you have a split personality.'

'Nah, I know my own "inner voices", and you sound different. Now get out of my head, Jerhun.'

'You are one of my kind, Major John Sheppard. You make it too easy for me to get into your head. You wish to communicate this way.'

'No, I'm not one of your kind. I've got some of the same genes as the Ancients, but I don't know what you are.'

'Who are the Ancients?'

'They're the race that built the stargates, and they built this city.'

'Major John Sheppard, if that is so, then I am one of the Ancients. As is Gonfalon, and Threx, and Siara, and also Caris.'

John whipped out a knief and started cutting Jerhun loose.

The young looking Ancient sat up unsteadilly.

"I shall remain out of your head from now on."

"Well thanks. I'm glad to hear that. So how can you be one of the Ancients? You're so young."

"Am I young?" Jerhun smirked. "Just how old do you think I am?"

"I don't know, perhaps twenty, maybe forty if your race ages slowly."

Jerhun grinned, looking away.

"I ache to be that young again. How old are you?"

Sheppard stiffened.

"I'd rather not talk about that."

* * *

Jerhun had been roughed up a bit in the past couple days, the lithe, graceful Ancient had an uncanny habit of suddenly appearing when you least wanted him around. Such as when Elizabeth Weir discussed his fate with John Sheppard. She was in favor of keeping Jerhun drugged and guarded, out of her way, while Sheppard thought that having him running loose was perfectly fine. Sheppard trusted him, Weir had a deepseated dislike for him. Weir rather thought of Jerhun as something to be studied, like a mammoth frozen in ice, while Sheppard thought of Jerhun as an equal who should be treated with great respect.

So far though, Weir had been the one who got her way. Jerhun had been drugged for hours the day before. He'd reacted poorly to the drug and been sick for quite a bit. Sheppard had been majorly aggravated by that, and 'abducted' Jerhun from Weir. Jerhun had spent the night wrapped in blankets and sleeping fitfully near the major. Several times, Jerhun had looked longingly toward the stargate, after seeing Weir.

Sheppard had dressed Jerhun up in battle gear this morning, he was taking him through the gate with him to explore one of the neighboring planets. Jerhun had an incredable capacity to remember things, and he remembered virtually everything anyone said, almost word for word.

Somehow, the question of Jerhun's age came up again. He confessed to Sheppard that he'd been about 19 when he was put into suspended animation by some of the Ancients, who thought him a deadly hybrid. Only about 10 years ago had he been awakened, by a mother grieving her lost son. She'd seen him and thought him so young, innocent, and worthy of being set free. He'd had a lot of trouble with being drugged since then. He didn't know how long he'd been in suspended animation, and no one was going to tell him. Some of his adoptive mother's neighbors had captured and drugged him, intending to put him back in stasis, but all they'd succeeded in was making him deathly ill.

"How are you a deadly hybrid?" Sheppard asked.

Jerhun lifted his eyes from his boots to Sheppard's face. For a moment, those pale cheeks hollowed, those intense eyes became sunken and dangerous, the long-fingered hands became clawed, and Sheppard's heart skipped a beat.

"I'm part Wraith." rasped the apparition.


	2. Revelations

_Stargate: Atlantis; The Alternate First Season_

_By WeaverOfDreams777_

Rating: PG-PG13

Genre:Action/Adventure

Disclaimer: I do not own _Stargate:SG1_ or _Stargate:Atlantis_.

Warning: This story is not meant to fit the storyline set forth by the producers of Stargate. It is AU, Alternate Universe. If you don't like that, don't review. You don't have to read it.

In the premier episode of Stargate:Atlantis, the Atlantis team awakened the Wraith. Major John Sheppard feared he may have made a mistake when he tried to rescue the captives the Wraith had taken. When he killed the blue witchy Wraith chick, he awakened the rest, and made it look rather like the beehive of doom. Two or three Wraith tried to follow him through the stargate into Atlantis, but to put it nicely, they were unsuccessful.

Chapter two: Revelations

Sheppard was killing him, and he knew it. Yet Jerhun didn't struggle at all. It didn't matter that his lips had turned blue and it didn't matter that he was fast losing consciousness, all Sheppard could think of was 'kill the damn Wraith-spawn!' Two of his men pulled the major off of the unconscious Ancient. Jerhun was barely breathing, and the men were terrified to lose their guide. Jerhun didn't look like a Wraith, yet they'd seen him a few minutes ago when he'd looked like one. They knew from the past three days that Jerhun didn't actually mean anyone any harm, and though he was part Wraith, as they knew now, they got the feeling he leaned a little more toward the Ancient side of the family.

One of the men knelt,putting Jerhun's chest over his knee, and slammed his fist between those slender shoulders. Jerhun coughed and started breathing more normally. Sheppard looked venomously at Jerhun. The deceitful little wretch! How could a Wraith have slipped past his notice? Aiden touched Sheppard's shoulder.

"Hey, it's not Jerhun's fault that he was born part Wraith. Just as it's not your fault that the Wraith killed the colonel. Get over it."

"I have nothing to get over, Aiden. Wraith are not good people, in case you didn't notice." Sheppard growled, digging through his pocket.

He hadn't thought he'd need this when Weir had insisted upon it, but then again, he hadn't known that Jerhun was a Wraith at the time either.

Jerhun was beginning to wake. Sheppard pinned him down and drugged him, not caring that it would make him ill.

* * *

Weir heard soft whimpering in the night, and her mothering instincts kicked in. She followed the sound to near the unpowered stargate. She looked behind the giant metal ring. Jerhun was curled up on the floor, shaking like a leaf. She turned on a flashlight and looked at the young Ancient physician. The luster had gone out of those bright eyes, they seemed so blank, dull, and lifeless, and they didn't react at all to the light.

She laid her hand against his forehead. It was hot, hotter than she'd ever known anyone's skin could be.

"You're burning up..." she murmured.

"He has been much the same since John and Aiden brought him back." Teyla said. "He cannot handle the drugs you give him, he is too sensetive, too fragile. He will die."

"No," Weir said firmly, "No. He will not die."

She lifted him from the floor and carried him to her quarters. She would take care of him, she would save him, somehow. She woke Beckett, and enlisted his aid. It became more and more obvious that Jerhun was delirious. His light blue robes were damp with sweat, his fingers twitched uncontrolably. She looked at the data she'd collected in the past two days about this creature. His body temperature usually hovered around 90 degrees farenheit, and now it was close to 110. None of the data matched, not even his heartbeat or breathing.

His breathing was as shakey as his body, his heartbeat 30 beats per minute too fast. He tried to move and she held him still, listening to him moan. Dr. Beckett reached into his bag for a cold compress, and laid it on Jerhun's chest after activating it. They needed to bring his temperature down, and they couldn't give him any of the medicines they had on hand, because if Teyla was right, they would kill him, or at least make it much worse. Weir paged Sheppard.

John Sheppard entered the room looking a little foggy. He saw Jerhun and turned to leave. Weir left the trembling Ancient to seize Sheppard's sleeve.

"John, you have to hold him down for Beckett. He needs to examine Jerhun and he's too sick to understand when I tell him to be still. He's too strong for me."

"So?"

"So? Major, what has gotten into you? Earlier this morning you were rebuking me for not caring about him, and now you don't care either?"

"The kid is part wraith, Dr. Weir. I don't think he's worth saving. It's the drugs, you and I both know it."

"I didn't give him anything today, and yesterday he didn't get a big enough dose to do this much damage."

"No, but I gave him the drugs you made me take with me on our mission when I found out he was a Wraith."

"Sheppard, he is running a fever so high it will bake his brain. It won't nessecarilly kill him, and if it doesn't he'll be a vegetable. Now help us bring this fever down."

Sheppard grudgingly helped Weir hold down Jerhun while Beckett tried to bring down the Ancient's temperature with cold compresses. He suddenly noticed the blankness of Jerhun's eyes.

"Weir, what's with the dead look he's giving me?" Sheppard asked.

"He's blind."

Sheppard's blood ran cold for a moment. He'd blinded this mere child, this young Ancient, who had his whole life ahead of him. Sheppard's throat tightened as he realized the magnitude of what he'd done. Only three days ago, he'd been trying to befriend Jerhun, and now, he'd as good as killed him. If that wasn't betrayal, he didn't know what was. Jerhun didn't even really know why Major Sheppard had choked him. Jerhun stopped moving under his grasp. The slender Ancient was limp and still, his eyes closed. Sheppard looked for any sign of life, yelling for Beckett to come. Beckett raced over, searching for a pulse. He found one, and forced unconscious Jerhun to breathe.

"Don't you dare die on me, you'll cause an intergalactic incident!" Weir hissed at the motionless form before her.

Beckett pressed a cold compress to the side of Jerhun's neck, trying to cool the blood headed for his brain. His temperature had come down a few degrees, that was good news, but he seemed to be getting worse. Beckett turned to Sheppard.

"Those drugs, were they the oral or injected ones?"

"Oral, I think. You mean he had to swallow them, right?"

"Exactly."

Beckett tried hard to bring Jerhun around.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to wake him. I'm hoping I can make him vomit."

"What? Why? I'm not cleaning up Ancient puke."

"You'll be burying him otherwise, Major. That or Beckett'll have to try to pump out his stomach, which we really don't want to do." Weir interjected.

Jerhun's eyelashes fluttered and he blinked listlessly. Beckett immediatly pulled him face down over his knees and stuck his finger down Jerhun's throat. Jerhun started gagging, then retching. It wasn't long before the seriously ill Ancient was vomiting uncontrolably, and Beckett was still making him gag. Jerhun squirmed, trying to get his finger out of his mouth, but unable to free himself from Sheppard's grasp. He was too out of it to even think about biting Beckett's finger. Jerhun gagged all he could gag, and when Beckett could get nothing more than clear fluid out of him, he stopped inducing the vomiting. Jerhun shook spasmicly in his arms, trying so hard to please, but too sick to understand. He was so cold, the ice had brought his temperature down alright, but now he was hypothermic.

Three hours later, Weir, Beckett, and Sheppard had still not been able to regulate Jerhun's temperature. They put the ice on him and he became hypothermic, they took it away, and the fever came back. The cycles of hot and cold were wearing Jerhun out, he could barely stay conscious. Beckett drew blood from him to anylize. Jerhun seemed so strangely weak and pale, so exhausted. He lost consciousness and they didn't try to wake him. Perhaps it was better for him to be out of it, when he was fading so fast.

Gonfalon entered the room. He looked gravely at Jerhun and Beckett, then back at Weir and Sheppard.

"I see that you humans could not be trusted with our young rising star. I am dissappointed. Perhaps I will be able to save him, perhaps not. Still, the fact remains that you are not good stewards of the things entrusted to your care, and I cannot leave him with you again." Gonfalon said sorrowfully.

Weir's heart sank, and she felt oh-so guilty. Jerhun was a limp bundle in Gonfalon's arms, hanging as limp as a bedsheet.

* * *

For days, Jerhun hung between death and life, sometimes briefly conscious. Sheppard had plenty of time to rethink his judgement of the Ancient/Wraith hybrid. Gonfalon carried on in his grave manner, watching over the younger Jerhun as though it were his son. Jerhun slowly recovered, relieving the Atlantis Team's anxiety about the possible galactic incident that could have arisen. Gonfalon was perfectly serious about staying as well, which meant a slightly scarey Ancient haunted their steps.

He was lecturing Weir one day on the value of the Wrait/Ancient hybrid.

"You'd best not take the one we've lent you for granted. Only four of his kind came out of stasis alive, and the other three are all female. Kill him, and the others are worthless." Gonfalon said.

Weir was a little dubious.

"You're not _breeding_ them are you? I mean, you're very wise and all, but Jerhun is sentient, he thinks for himself."

"No, we're not breeding them! How barbaric! We do want to encourage him to like one of them and continue the species."

"We had animals on earth that were a cross within the same genus, but they were sterile, how do you know that's not true of Jerhun and the three girls?"

"Our old records show otherwise."

"But why would you want to have more of them? Aren't the Wraith your enemies?"

"Yes, but it was not always so."

Gonfalon seemed to get a faraway look in his grey eyes, as if remembering something long ago. Weir looked at him curiously, wondering what the Ancient was remembering. _Once the Wraith were not so unlike us..._

* * *

Jerhun laughed as Aiden went flying over him. Aiden and he were mockfighting on a soft mat, neither of them was going to get hurt, but Jerhun was tremendously entertained. Whatever moves Aiden tried on him, he locked away in his memory, and used on Aiden in return. Aiden was getting frustrated, Sheppard was snickering in a corner, and several other members of the team were watching in great amusement too. Jerhun's long fingers tauntingly mussed Aiden's hair at arm's length, as he ducked away from another haymaker blow.

"Aiden! He's just learning your fighting style and matching it. You're not going to get anywhere with him." Sheppard laughed.

"Fine, then you fight him, Major. I warn you though, he's not blind anymore!" Aiden shot back.

"I might debate that." Gonfalon muttered. "I think he _feels _you coming, or he reads it in your head."

"Nah, I think we'd know if he were in there." Sheppard said lightly.

"Really? He doesn't have to let you know that he's reading it, Major. He only really does it as a courtesy."

"You mean he's reading my mind the whole time I'm fighting him? I don't think I like that." Aiden piped up.

"He's only reading certain thoughts. Just the ones pertaining to the fight." Gonfalon said.

"Prove it." Aiden challenged.

"Very well, go at him now."

Jerhun whirled, looking around like he was lost, reaching out to find Aiden's solid body. The tips of his pointed ears twitched as he tried to focus on the sound Aiden's feet made on the mat. Aiden's eyebrows shot up. He grabbed Jerhun and pinned him down on the mat, wondering if he was really blind or it was just something Gonfalon had done, like a parlor trick. Gonfalon smirked unbearably.

"I blocked you Jerhun, you should know better than to cheat when fighting with friends." Gonfalon said. "Guess who has you?"

"Major Sheppard?" Jerhun guessed.

"No, it's Aiden. John weighs more than me." Aiden said, letting Jerhun up.

Jerhun looked shamed. Sheppard was floored, his conscience pricking at him abominably. So Jerhun was permanately blind? He couldn't see at all? _How else could he have mistaken Aiden for you?_ Jerhun had been hiding his blindness, relying on other senses and abilities to keep up the deception, it made sense, Sheppard knew he would do his best to hide a disability such as that in the same situation. That was the most damning revelation he'd had in years. Jerhun _was_ much like him, just as he'd said before. _You are one of my kind, Major John Sheppard._


	3. And Then There Were Four

_Stargate: Atlantis; The Alternate First Season_

_By WeaverOfDreams777_

Rating: PG-PG13

Genre:Action/Adventure

Disclaimer: I do not own _Stargate:SG1_ or _Stargate:Atlantis_.

Warning: This story is not meant to fit the storyline set forth by the producers of Stargate. It is AU, Alternate Universe. If you don't like that, don't review. You don't have to read it.

Kamil: Kah-Meel; Soul Stealer (Ka, Egyptian; soul/lifeforce)

Amara: Ay-Ma-Rah; Accursed (Mara, Hebrew; cursed)

Maris: Mah-Rees; The Wise One

Jerhun: Jay-Rhoon; Let Justice Be Served

Gonfalon: Gan-Fa-Lonn; Golden

Threx: Diligent

Chapter three: And Then There Were Four.

Sheppard's jaw dropped, and he knew Weir was just as surprised. These three were so different from Jerhun it was almost scarey. One was as tall as Gonfalon, but very thin, with high cheekbones and gray-blue eyes, with white hair. Another was about Jerhun's size, with black hair and purple-blue eyes, and white, almost blueish skin. The last was the strangest of all. Her hair was as red as Wier's hidden away lipstick and her skin was an odd shade of peaches-and-cream. Her eyes were bright orange. Clearly, the last one was mostly Wraith. Apparantly, their Jerhun was the only normal looking one in the bunch. Jerhun shrank back behind Weir, swallowing hard.

Sheppard got the distinct impression that Jerhun was not comfortable with the three girls. The red haired one looked savagely at Jerhun. There was no audible exchange, but Jerhun couldn't hide his fear behind his sightless eyes. Gonfalon missed the exchange, he was too busy with Threx.

Weir eyed the red head with contempt, willing her to leave Jerhun alone. The red head turned to her, more hideous than before, as if daring Weir to come at her. Weir could hear the red head's taunts in her head, and she immediately began to shut them out. She knew that as she did, the red head was giving Jerhun a mental pounding. The white haired hybrid turned slowly and delibrately to the red head, then reached out and grasped the other girl's head. The red head jerked, fighting the iron grip.

"Hush thyself, Amara, or I shall hush thee and thou shalt ne'er speak again." said the white haired girl's soft, threatening voice.

Jerhun relaxed a little behind Weir, and the tall, white haired hybrid bowed to Weir and Sheppard.

"I am Kamil, I hope to have found thee in good health." she said, cold and austere, but beautiful.

"And I am Maris, Amara is my sister." said the black haired hybrid. "Excuse Kamil for her speech, she has been brought up by a linguistics professor."

"Well, we're please to meet you," said Sheppard. "Are any of you related to Jerhun?"

"Nay. He is but another of the same species, rather than a relative." Kamil said.

Amara cast a threatening glance in Jerhun's direction and stalked off as a guard prodded her along.

"Why does Amara hate Jerhun so much?" Weir asked Gonfalon.

"Jerhun is mine, that is why."

* * *

Weir wondered what Gonfalon had meant when he said Jerhun was 'his'. Did it mean that Jerhun was his adopted son, or did it mean that Jerhun was a slave? Could it actually mean that Gonfalon was Jerhun's father? Weir tried to make sense of it, but it was dizzying. A father who cared about his son would never let him be taken from him and put in stasis. Or would he? What if there was nothing else that could have been done at the time? Weir was giving herself a headache trying to figure it out.

She could probably just ask Gonfalon and he'd tell her exactly what he meant, but she wasn't in the mood for his exceeding bluntness at this moment. Jerhun was asleep at her feet right now. Ever since his illness, Weir had felt strongly against letting him out of her sight. So she slept near him. In her eyes, he was a child, and try as she might, she couldn't shake this image from her consciousness. It did pain her that he couldn't see anymore, she wished she could have done something to have prevented that.

She reached over and ran her fingers though his dark, fluffy curls. He was a cute child, she could give him that. She was more watchful now than before, because Amara had such obvious animosity toward Jerhun that Weir felt it wasn't safe that he should be allowed to wander alone, especially because Amara could probably block his attempts to find her mentally and easilly prey upon his disability. Jerhun rolled over, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders, his ears relaxing even further. Weir smiled distantly, thinking of how a cat nestles down before bed.

Weir thought she saw a shape in the doorway. She sat up to look at it, and there was nothing there. Telling herself that she needed to curb her imagination, Weir laid down and went to sleep.

Amara was watching.

* * *

Jerhun was sluggish and kind of lethargic in the morning, content to plod along at Weir's heels. He was beginning to feel secure with the woman, and she was beginning to feel more protective of him. Especially since the arrival of the three female hybrids. She didn't trust Amara, though she felt that Kamil was mostly harmless. Kamil usually walked around the city with a slightly superior air anyway. Kamil wore mostly black and silver, and if there were books around, you could be sure she would find one.

Jerhun was talking to Sheppard when Weir sat down beside Gonfalon.

"Gonfalon, I have a question to ask you..."

"Yes, Elizabeth?"

"What did you mean yesterday when you said Jerhun was yours?"

Gonfalon put his book down and smiled.

"He's my son. I know he looks nothing like me, he's very much his mother's child."

"But, isn't he half-wraith?"

"Is that what he said?"

"Well, no."

"He's one quarter Wraith, actually. His mother was half Wraith and half human."

"Then how did he end up in cryogenic stasis? Why would you let that happen if he's your son?"

Gonfalon frowned and his eyes hardened.

"He was taken from me. My wife, his mother, was killed. Someone thought she was a danger and they were going to do the same to her as Jerhun, but she wouldn't let them take her boy. They killed her. I couldn't find my son anywhere, I thought him dead. Until about ten years ago, when my second wife lost her child. They were awakening the Wraith-hybrids at the time, wanting to see if they were actually as deadly as it was rumored."

"And they died?"

"Most of them. Like Jerhun, they can't handle the medications and drugs that you and I can. They didn't know it at the time. It killed most of them before we were able to figure it out. My wife saw Jerhun's unruly curls and pouty lower lip through the ice and decided she had to wake him and keep him. He and Amara were the last ones to be awakened. Amara was almost not awakened, because she was so obviously mostly Wraith. Apparantly, Amara had also been in stasis longest, because she was insane. Jerhun had almost no memories whatsoever."

"How long were they in stasis that it drove Amara mad?"

"More than ten thousand years, as you measure time."

Gonfalon went back to reading his book as Wier sat there in shellshock. So they had an insane Wraith on their hands? And poor Jerhun...

* * *

No one would tussle with Jerhun anymore, they were afraid that they'd hurt him, because he was blind. He was begging Sheppard, who was mentally blocking Jerhun away from the guilt he felt about the boy's blindness. Jerhun liked to mockfight with the men, he didn't care that he was at a disadvantage, he had fun doing it. Sheppard knew it, but he couldn't bring himself to ask anyone to fight with a blind boy. Aiden Ford finally gave in.

Aiden knew that Jerhun could tell he was taking it easy on him, and he knew Jerhun was offended. Jerhun liked to play fair. He started to put a little more umph into it. Gonfalon was sitting nearby, watching half heartedly.

With the city back under the waves, it was hard not to feel a little claustrophobic and crowded. True, there was a whole city to wander through, but there was no one in it, so what good did it do to wander? Ford and Sheppard were both itching for another venture through the stargate, and Gonfalon could practically smell it. He clapped his book shut and stood abruptly. Everyone turned to him.

"Major, I believe I still know the dialing code of a nearby planet that you have yet to explore. Shall we go?" Gonfalon invited.

Sheppard's eyes grew wide.

"Gonfalon, you know Dr. Weir and Dr. Beckett would have a fit."

A defiant light leapt into Gonfalon's eyes.

"I know. That's why I'm not asking them."

Aiden whistled.

"Boy, I sure would like to get out of here for a while, and I'm sure everyone else shares my sentiments."

Sheppard grinned enthusiasticlly.

"Let's do it! Who's going with?"

All hands in the room were raised, including Jerhun's.

Gonfalon turned.

"I'll go clear out the control room."

The whole group geared up, Aiden helping Jerhun with things that he fumbled with. Aiden had a feeling that Sheppard hadn't noticed Jerhun raise his hand, because if he had, he certainly wouldn't allow Jerhun to go along. Aiden carefully made Jerhun less obvious, if all went well, Sheppard would never know the blind hybrid was along for the ride. Aiden didn't exactly know why he was doing this, but it was sort of fun to be duping a commanding officer. The others got in on the act, moving Jerhun to the center of the group and hiding him amongst the crush of bodies. A few snickered, thinking of what Sheppard was going to say when he found out. It certainly wouldn't be edifying.

"Where's Jerhun?" Sheppard asked, entering the control room, where everyone was gathered.

"With Weir." Ford quickly replied.

"Works for me." Sheppard shrugged.

The team embarked through the stargate with Gonfalon as their guide.

* * *

Amara seized Beckett by the neck and started to drag him away. She was a predator, and Beckett now knew it keenly. He struggled, trying to overcome the Wraithling. Maris saw her sister's intent and hissed loudly, lunging at the more dangerous hybrid. Beckett was securely in the middle of a life and death struggle, and not at all comfortable. Maris tried to grip Amara's face and drain her, and Amara was torn between her desire for human and her need to defend herself. She tried to keep one clawed hand on each, hungering for the lives of both.

Wier could hardly believe the struggle before her eyes when she came running to see what the commotion was about. But in her hand was a pistol, and apparantly, she would have to use it. She took aim at Amara, who was sucking the life out of Maris, who in turn was doing the same to Amara.

They moved as she pulled the trigger.

The tangle of bodies stopped moving.

* * *

Sheppard was disappointed. The planet was devoid of human life, and Gonfalon had sadly ruled that the Wraith had wiped out the inhabitants of this planet as well. They were trekking back to the stargate when Gonfalon had an idea.

"You know, since there is no one here, you could take the power generator with you. We will build a new one and repopulate the planet at a later date."

So that was essentially what they did.

The scene on the other side of the portal came as a shock to them all.

The sisters Amara and Maris lay dying on the floor, gasping their last in unison. Beckett was unscathed, but trembling. Weir was standing there with a gun, her eyes as large as saucers as she realized how angry Gonfalon was going to be.

Gonfalon moaned as though in pain.

"The females! Elizabeth! We did not have any to spare! You just halved the entire population, congratulations."

"I didn't mean to shoot Maris too!"

Jerhun was picking his way across the room, using his hands to find the two girls. As luck would have it, he found Maris first. Beckett watched with interest as Jerhun's fingers dug into Maris' shoulder. Maris coughed and sputtered, then sat up abruptly, shoving Jerhun away. She kept him away from Amara even, forcing him back across the room to Weir.

"Stay with the woman, it's where you belong, halfling!" she hissed. "Can't you leave well enough alone?"

Weir glared at the insinuation that Jerhun was a sissy.

"I did not want to be alive!" Maris hissed. "And Amara is finally out of her misery, would you bring her back and face her insanity threefold?"

Maris seized Beckett, instead of draining him of his lifeforce, she drained herself of her own.

Sheppard whistled as Maris hit the floor.

"Well, Dr. Beckett, I doubt you will sleep tonight."

Weir was still gaping.


	4. Jerhun's Genius

_Stargate: Atlantis; The Alternate First Season_

_By WeaverOfDreams777_

Rating: PG-PG13

Genre:Action/Adventure

Disclaimer: I do not own _Stargate:SG1_ or _Stargate:Atlantis_.

Warning: This story is not meant to fit the storyline set forth by the producers of Stargate. It is AU, Alternate Universe. If you don't like that, don't review. You don't have to read it.

Hey! Thanks to the two of you who reviewed, I really didn't expect to get any at all. I hope this chapter does not disappoint. I want you to know, Rose, Shep develops over time in this fic. And it's mostly prewritten.

Chapter four: Jerhun's Genius

Amara and Maris had recieved a burial at sea, and Jerhun had become more like a hermit. Kamil had become even more superior in bearing. Sheppard was on so-so terms with Weir, and McKay and Beckett were busy as bees. Only Aiden Ford really noticed that Jerhun seemed to be retreating. The whole team had a difficult task ahead of them, trying to figure out how to stop the Wraith. McKay kept loudly proclaiming that he merely needed a Wraith to study and then the problem would be as good as solved, but after seeing Jerhun and the other hybrids, it seemed hard to justify capturing a Wraith. Gonfalon stepped in with his blunt words of wisdom.

"These Wraith are far removed from their original ancestors. By capturing them you break no law or treaty, but you do risk your lives and the lives of the civilians here. While it may be convienient to have a Wraith specimen at your disposal, weigh well the risks first."

Sheppard discussed it heavilly with the ranking officers and non-military personell, trying to bring about a yes or no descision. Jerhun managed to overhear it, and the coordinates of where they'd last found the Wraith. He had to go with them if they tried to capture a Wraith, else they were predestined to fail. He knew it deep down. He started 'looking' for a soldier who looked like him, reading it during his daily sparring matches. Weir knew something was up, since her charge disappeared frequently.

She found Jerhun tinkering with the ZPM the team had brought back one day.

"May I ask what you're doing?" she asked, seating herself beside him.

"As you Earth Humans would say, I am 'Turbocharging' the zero point module. It is going well." he replied.

"How, Jerhun? You, you're..."

"Blind? I know. I don't have to see to do this."

"Then how are you doing this?"

"Remember how I told you I could remember almost anything, indefinately?"

"Sort of."

"This is not the first ZPM I have worked on. I remember the other ones vividly in my head. I need only feel the parts to know what they are and where they go."

"Why are you doing it, though?"

"Because it will help the team, and if I can be a help, perhaps Major Sheppard will not resent my presence."

"What will it do?"

"You will be able to go farther through our Stargate. Father said your range is far too limited to be of any use. On our planet, things could be different, but we cannot allow you there as of yet."

"So what will you do next, techie?"

"I will disable the security protocols on the gate and reprogram them."

"But the Wraith will get through!"

"Dr. Weir, if there is no power to the gate they will have a dreadfully hard time doing that. They will be trapped in subspace indefinately."

"Oh."

"Each member of the team will wear a beacon, that will enable them to pass through the gate. It will only work on the member whose DNA matches the internal codex. Wraith couldn't use it then. Furthermore, the beacons will self destruct if somone tries to modify them after I lock them in. There is another gate on the other side of the city. We can test the beacons that way."

Weir was surprised. Jerhun had really thought this through. He handed her a beacon.

"This one is yours. It's programmed for you and you only."

It looked much like a wrist watch, and even displayed the date and time.

"Jerhun, it's a wristwatch."

"No it isn't. It's a miniature dialer. Flip up the face of the watch."

The now familiar sequenced runes greeted her eyes. An etching of the atlantis stargate was on the clear crystal of the face. She sat quietly and admired it for a moment.

"I'm glad you like it." Jerhun murmured, putting the housing back on the ZPM. "It communicates directly with the DHD."

He got up and walked over to the stargate, expertly popping out a maintanence door and pulling out some circut boards.

"Dr. Weir, I do need help with this, if you don't have time, can Dr. Beckett or Dr. McKay assist me?"

"No, I'll help you. I want to see how it's done."

"Fine. I'll explain it as we go. Bring that bag and the ZPM over here."

Weir looked dubiously at the zero point module and the Jerhun's bag of circut boards and tools. Both looked very heavy.

"The ZPM is on a dolly. You can move it. The circut boards are actually very light." Jerhun said.

He was right, both items were easilly moved. She pushed the ZPM in front of the disabled stargate and watched Jerhun remove circut boards. He laid them on the floor in order.

"Alright, this is why I need help. The boards are color coded, get the board that matches the first board in color out of my bag."

Understanding dawned on Weir, and she pulled the matching board out of its soft wrappings and handed it to Jerhun. He popped it into the slot where it belonged.

"Did the LEDs on the edge light up?"

"Yes, all of them. They're flashing in sequence."

"Good, the board is compatible. The rest of them should work too."

They repeated all the steps until only one board was left. Jerhun left the access panel open and the board out. He turned to Weir.

"Can you call the whole team up here? I need to program the beacons, and I can't do it without them."

Weir immediately called Sheppard and asked him to send up the team members in groups of six.

* * *

"But what if the Wraith try to jam the beacons' frequency?" Sheppard asked skeptically.

"I thought of that," Jerhun replied. "As a result, the beacons transmit on several frequencies, and the gate security computer now recieves on several."

"Couldn't the Wraith steal these and imput their own code?"

"No. Only I can. I locked them down with instructions to self destruct if tampered with."

"Besides, Major, it works on DNA identification," Weir said. "The Wraith's DNA doesn't match ours."

"Sound thinking, Jerhun," Gonfalon said. "But how did you do the etchings?"

"A machine. They're laser etchings. I didn't have to see to do it, the machine could work from a picture."

Sheppard shook his head in astonishment.

"Alright Jerhun, you win. Lay it on me."

Jerhun handed him the beacon and told him to put it on. Sheppard obeyed, slightly unnerved that a blind ancient could do so many things. Jerhun gave him the dialing code of the stargate across the city. Sheppard put it in on the tiny device. To his surprise, the stargate powered up right away. Jerhun put on his own beacon and activated it, then stepped through the stargate, leaving Sheppard behind. Jerhun came out in the massive library on the other side fo the city, running his hand down the spine of the nearest book, he knew exactly where he was. He turned around, then walked back through the stargate, ending up back in the gateroom.

"As you would say, 'Have at it!'. The gate works and the beacons work as well."

The team adventurously trooped through the gate to the library. It was as Jerhun said. They wouldn't need as heavy a watch now. To Aiden Ford, this was the final proof that the Ancients were a technologicly advanced race. If a blind one could do this, imagine what the sighted ones could do!

Jerhun smiled tiredly as he 'watched' the team go back and forth. Finally, the gate was powered down, and the team gathered around him.

"Alright Jerhun, your point has been proven. You can go with us tomorrow."

Jerhun bowed, smiled, and left the room.

* * *

McKay sighed, watching Jerhun from across the room. It bugged him that the hybrid was blind. True, Jerhun bore up bravely in spite of it, and he found many ways to overcome his difficulties, but still, Dr. Rodney McKay wished there were something he could do to restore Jerhun's sight. It was unnerving how Jerhun could appear to be watching the goings on of the city, and yet not actually see any of it. McKay had to admit that Jerhun had more courage than he did, in that Jerhun was always the first to try his own inventions, and seemed to have no problems with requesting help when he needed it. He didn't have any pride issues.

Aiden Ford had to help Jerhun with some of the straps and buckles of the battle gear that the team wore, but Jerhun seemed to be perfectly fine with admitting he needed the help. He in turn helped Aiden to do things that Aiden couldn't do alone. Jerhun was so ready and willing to be a help, despite the fact that the team was responsible for the loss of his sight.

"Jerhun, can you come here?" McKay called out.

He could feel Jerhun search the room mentally before his thoughts came to rest on McKay. Jerhun could navigate the room by touch if he knew what he was trying to reach, as he had demonstrated on many an occaision. He didn't fall short this time either.

"Yes, Dr. McKay?"

"Be careful. Sheppard and the others are trying to capture a Wraith, they're going to the planet where they found the hive-ship before. Don't risk your life unnessecarilly. Despite what you may think, we like you and want to keep you."

Jerhun smiled and saluted smartly.

"Yes sir, Dr. McKay."

McKay snickered.

"You just live to make others' lives a little more humourous, don't you?"

Jerhun nodded, turning to go. He looked perfectly at home in the human battle gear, slender but well muscled, tall and stately. The long-fingered hands brushed tables and chairs as Jerhun found his way back over to the rest of the group.

As the small battle group stepped through the stargate, McKay sighed again. He had a long and boring day ahead of him.

* * *

Sheppard watched with interest as Jerhun lifted his head into the breeze and inhaled, ears twitching, and all his senses obviously engaged in the task at hand. He rather wondered what exactly would transpire, should they meet a Wraith. Sheppard was not overly suprised when Jerhun became more Wraithlike in appearance.

"If we meet a Wraith, fear is to be the last thing on your minds. Remember that he or she cannot see you unless I otherwise dictate."

"And how exactly do you intend to control what the other Wraith sees?"

Jerhun smiled.

"It is simple. He sees what I tell his brain he sees."

Sheppard nodded, unable to think of a suitable reply.

* * *

Weir held her breath, hoping that the sounds issuing fron the gate room would not bring the techies running. She dialed in the gate code for Earth. Beckett was with her at least, and McKay. They needed reinforcements, they would be deployed here for a long time, and 150 people were simply not going to cut it. Especially with so many non-military people. General O'Niel and Dr. Daniel Jackson were the first people to jump through the gate. Weir smiled nervously down O'Niel's gunbarrel.

"Dr. Weir? But how did you find a powerful enough energy source?"

"We didn't, Jerhun turbocharged the ZPM yesterday and upgraded the security codes."

"I didn't send any such person on this expedition."

"No, sir, he's an Ancient, actually. A blind one."

"Then the Ancients are alive?!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Yes, but they no longer live here. Jerhun is from another planet."

"What a pity that he's blind. It's really too bad that he never saw Atlantis." Jackson mused.

"Um, actually, he did. He wasn't blind when he first got here." Weir looked ashamed.

Thankfully, General O'Niel cut in.

"What do you need, Doctor?"

"Military Reinforcements, sir, and supplies. We've encountered a powerful enemy and we'll need more military power than we presently possess."

"Well, I'll ask Colonel Sumner what exactly he needs..."

"Sir, Colonel Sumner is dead. Major Sheppard is the commanding officer right now, and he doesn't know we're having this conversation."

"Alright," General O'Neil sighed. "Dial us in at 2200 hours. We'll send your reinforcements, supplies, and a higher ranking officer through the wormhole as soon as you establish it."

Weir nodded her thanks.

"And Weir, we'll send through a depleted ZPM as well. Have your Ancient friend turbocharge it, if possible. Maybe when you send it back, you could send him along? Dr. Jackson is dying to meet distant kin."

"Yes sir."

O'Niel and Jackson stepped back through the wormhole and the gate was powered down. They had eight hours to prepare.

* * *

The Wraith hailed Jerhun, seeming oblivious to the humans around him.

"How is the hunting? Have you caught the wretches who desecrated our hive?"

"No. The hunting is poor and we have nothing to show for our effort. We will try again."

The Wraith nodded slightly, and moved to pass Jerhun.

Aiden was ready for him, and struck the Wraith hard on the head. The Wraith crumpled softly into Jerhun's arms.

"Alright, that's all we signed up for, lets make like a bananna and split." Aiden hissed, slinging the Wraith over his shoulders and turning toward where they'd hidden the Puddle Jumper.

Sheppard seconded the motion, and the whole party swiftly headed for the escape craft.

"There's only one problem, what do we do with this life sucker?" Aiden asked softly.

"I have no idea. I honestly never thought we'd get this far." Sheppard admitted.

"We'll put him in the cargo area, I suppose." Jerhun murmured.

* * *

Weir waited patiently for the return of the Wraithcatchers. She knew Sheppard was not going to be pleased with her, but that was really not something she was concerned about at the moment. Gonfalon had set about preparing a place to keep their dangerous guest. Weir wanted that 'Puddle Jumper' to come through the gate quickly so that she could get this over with.

She wondered what Sheppard would do when he found out that he was no longer the ranking officer...

The Puddle Jumper glided though the gate, coming to a stop in front of Weir. Sheppered grinned and gave her the thumbs up. Weir smiled grimly. He wouldn't be giving her the thumbs up in a few minutes. Gonfalon was wiping his hands on a towel, finally finished. Jerhun emerged from the puddle jumper with a seemingly lifeless male Wraith in his arms.

Gonfalon took the Wraith to put it in the containment cell.

"It was too easy! Jerhun told the Wraith's brain that he only saw fellow Wraith, and it worked! We only had to knock him out." Aiden laughed.

"I wonder what tall, blue, and scarey will think when he wakes up." Sheppard said softly, an evil grin stealing over his face.

Weir smiled thinly.

"Major Sheppard, I was able to talk with General O'Niel. He will send us reinforcements and supplies at 2200 hours."

"He's sending a ranking officer to replace me, too. Am I right?" Sheppard said quietly, reading between the lines.

"Yes sir." Weir said stiffly.

"Okay." Sheppard sighed, walking away.


	5. Wraiths and Ranking Officers

_Stargate: Atlantis; The Alternate First Season_

_By WeaverOfDreams777_

Rating: PG-PG13

Genre:Action/Adventure

Disclaimer: I do not own _Stargate:SG1_ or _Stargate:Atlantis_.

Warning: This story is not meant to fit the storyline set forth by the producers of Stargate. It is AU, Alternate Universe. If you don't like that, don't review. You don't have to read it.

Than's for your review, Raven2004, your request has been granted. D

Shi Aka: Shee-Ahkah; Red Death (Japanese)

Chapter five: Wraiths and Ranking Officers

The hour had arrived. Jerhun had disabled the security codes for this one function, and after this, no one would be able to arrive or leave without a beacon. Jerhun stood in ranks with the rest of the millitary personell, straight and tall and in full battle gear. He matched well.

A stable wormhole was generated, and men and supplies began to march though it. Some female nurses were dispersed between the ranks, and Dr. Jackson, like a nervous mother hen, darted to and fro with this and that. Twelve men, dressed in urban camoflage, stepped through gate in tight formation, heavy packs on their backs and silenced M-16 A2 assault rifles in their hands. Sheppard inhaled sharply at the sight of this team.

"S.E.A.L.s." he thought. "Damn. They probably all rank higher than I. O'Niell wasn't kidding."

The S.E.A.L. team leader saluted Sheppard smartly, and Sheppard could almost hear the heavy heels of the combat boots click together.

"Captain Lawrence H. Crawford reporting for duty to Major John Sheppard." he drawled, an obvious Texan.

"As I'm sure General O'Niell arranged already, I resign command to you, Captain Crawford."

"Now Major, just because I outrank you does not mean I'm here to assume command. You're a chickenfarmer, I'm a squid. I'll take care of the sea, you handle the air. I believe we can each manage our respective domains without interference."

The massive S.E.A.L. stuck out his hand to Sheppard with a smile.

"Call me Larry."

Sheppard grinned.

"John."

Four strapping young men brought in sonar equipment.

"Submarine sonar technicians." Larry whispered to John. "They're cracked, for sure, but not a bad lot to have about. They can fix their equipment like no others."

Various other representatives of various other branches of service from many other countries filed in. Two depleted ZPM units were trundled in last. The gate shut down, and 300 new people with loads of supplies filled the halls and the entire gate room. Jerhun reinserted the security code containing circut boards. A S.E.A.L stopped the blind hybrid in his tracks.

"Captain, this one isn't part of the expedition." said the S.E.A.L.

Captain Crawford turned from Sheppard, looking Jerhun over, and ignoring the muffled laughter of the original team members.

"Well, I do believe you are right, Anderson. Mr. Jerr Hun, you've got five minutes to explain yourself."

Jerhun looked confused.

"Explain myself? Whatever do you mean?"

"Are you a stow away, boy?"

Weir stepped in.

"Stop picking on Jerhun, for goodness sake! He's blind! If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be here, he fixed the ZPM."

"My apologies." Captain Crawford said, offering Jerhun a handshake. Jerhun couldn't see the Colonel's hand, let alone shake it. Slightly put out at being rebuffed, Crawford started to round up the new personell and assign them where they belonged. They would be living in various areas of the city

"That Jerhun fellow is a cold fish, what made him go blind? Why does he still act sighted?" Crawford asked Sheppard.

"I almost killed him. It was an accident, really, I knew that the drugs we gave him would make him ill, but I didn't realize that they could kill him so easilly. He ran a very high fever, he was lucky to live, and he has been unable to see since. He acts like he's sighted, because in a manner of speaking, he still is. He has some telepathic or psionic ability, he can read minds to a certain extent, and that can tell him what he needs to know. In a way, he sees through everyone else's eyes." Sheppard admitted. "He's becoming indispensable. The most interesting thing is that he holds no grudges, he still helps us as freely as he helped us before, and maybe his attitude is better, even. You'll warm up to him. He's actually a very normal individual, all things considered. His father, Gonfalon, on the other hand, is just a little whacked."

"What do you mean, 'all things considered'?"

"He's one quarter Wraith, and the Wraith are the enemy we're fighting right now. In his defense, he's also one quarter human, and half Ancient. He's very trustworthy."

Jerhun was merely twenty feet away, trying to help move equipment, being constantly rebuffed due to his blindness. Finally, with a sigh the young hybrid turned to the ZPMs. He pulled off the coverplates and ran his hands over the internal mechanisms. Beckett came over to help, a large bag of tools shared between them. The ZPM slowly came apart, and Jerhun modified circuts and pulled out of his equipment the pieces that would make the ZPMs function faster and better, providing more power. Lawrence Crawford watched with mild interest.

He had other things to do, unfortunately, so he couldn't stay and watch Jerhun right now.

* * *

The flurry of activity had settled down, and McKay had finally found a respite from his studies of their captive Wraith. Now he was wracking his brain to find a cure for Jerhun's blindness. Beckett thought he was nuts, which really wasn't too far from the truth, and the new medical officers didn't yet have time to examine an alien being.

If McKay had been honest with imself, he would know he was a bit obsessed with this idea of restoring Jerhun's sight.

_"Not all Jerhun sees is darkness. He may not see the light and color that you and I do, but he sees something far better, he sees the reflection of your soul. Would you take that from him and make him subject to the mere shadows we see?"_ McKay remembered Gonfalon saying that. It didn't make sense, which, coming out of Gonfalon's mouth, wasn't unusual. McKay didn't believe in 'souls'. He was a scientist, such paltry fairy tales were just that, fairy tales. Scientific facts were as important to him as breathing, but religion had nothing to do with his life. He was too enlightened for that.

Beckett was a Catholic, though. And all the new members of the S.E.A.L. team were deeply religious. As these thoughts flitted through his mind, Jerhun walked up to him.

_"Would that you could see the world through my eyes, Dr. McKay."_ Jerhun's voice echoed over McKay's thoughts. _"I do not wish for my sight back, I am quite content to get along without it. Why should you be so obsessed with giving back to me something which I do not miss?"_

McKay had really never though of it in that way before.

"Come with me. I want to show you what I see." Jerhun said suddenly, grasping McKay's shoulder. Darkness filled McKay's eyes, and he clung to Jerhun's arm in order to remain balanced and so he wouldn't trip over anything.

"Do you see anything yet?"

"No."

"In a moment you will. Tell me what you see."

A brilliant light in the shape of a man strode through McKay's line of sight.

"I see a bright figure walking by."

"That's Commander Jason Odgers."

"I see a bluish light walking by."

"That's Teyla. Look closer, doesn't she look strange?"

Teyla's form emerged from the blurr. She looked skeletal and somewhat Wraith-like.

"Yes she does! Why does she look like that?"

"Her spirit is in decay. Com. Jason Odgers has a strong spirit."

Another bright light crossed his visual area. This one was a warm yellow light.

"Okay, I see another."

"That's Lieutenant Raymond Brooks, he's one of the S.E.A.L.s."

"You see such strange things, Jerhun. How do you tell these people apart?"

"I get to know them. And to me, Dr. McKay, the reflection of your spirit looks much like Teyla's. Stop letting your obsession with restoring my sight consume you. Even if you could restore my sight, I wouldn't let you."

Luminious green eyes hovered in front of McKay's, and in their depths, McKay could see his own reflection. It frightened him. It faded, until McKay realized Jerhun himeself was standing there in front of him, and it was into those eyes he was staring. Jerhun's soft dark curls feathered around his face, framing it and drawing McKay's attention to his eyes. Jerhun blinked, and the spell was broken.

Jerhun turned and walked away.

* * *

Nurse Emily McEachren had never seen anything quite like this slavering Wraith. The team had fed it some of the indigenous animals, and it had eaten, but its bloodlust was not slakened. Emily's hair was caught up in a tight, orderly braided bun at the nape of her neck, which easilly concealed its length. Her hair was a soft auburn, it was quite obviously a token of her Irish heritige. She was an Irish Protestant, too, so she and Dr. Beckett didn't always see eye to eye.

She was, however, fascinated by this Wraith, and by Kamil and Jerhun. Sometimes she had a fleeting concern that Jerhun was watching her, maybe even stalking her. But she knew for a fact that he couldn't see her, so he probably didn't even consider her worth paying any extra attention to. He was usually nearby, working on something, and since he was the go-to maintainence man, that was no surprise. He'd never spoken to her, though.

Even as she mulled this over, Jerhun was working on a maze of wires within an access panel. She watched the Wraith inside the containment cell as he tried to stave off boredom by scratching abstract designs in the surrounding walls.

"His name is Shi Aka," Jerhun said quietly, without turning to face Emily. "Red Death."

He closed the access panel and stood.

"Would you like to see him closer, Miss?"

"Are you insane? He would eat me!" Emily exclaimed.

"I won't let him. You'll be safe with me."

Strangely, Emily felt that Jerhun was not making an idle boast. He was perfectly serious somehow.

"Yes, I would like to see him closer. But oh, be careful!"

"Well then, come with me."

"But, I thought you were going to bring him up to the observation window..."

"No. You can't appreciate him from out here. I promise he won't hurt you, Miss. I feed him, he knows me."

"You speak as if he were some kind of animal, a lower life form."

"Do I? Forgive me, I do not intend to speak so. I have great respect for him. If I didn't, he would have eaten me by now. I don't fear him, however."

"Well, I fear him."

"You have nothing to fear. Would you feel better if I brought him out here? Dr. Weir prefers to have him brought to her as well. Major Sheppard likes to go to him rather than have him outside his cell."

"I see. I think I will follow Major Sheppard's preference."

* * *

Shi Aka's blood red hair fell to the small of his back, his orange eyes malicious until he saw that Jerhun was his visitor. It did him no good to be malicious toward Jerhun, it was a battle between two immortals, a battle that could last forever, or as long as their strength held out. Emily could appreciate the male Wraith so much better now. The muscles in his arms rippled with power, were he not blue and vicious, perhaps he could be a movie star back on earth. (So long, Brad Pitt!) Come to think of it, he could still be a movie star, they would just have to replace the actors frequently.

Really, the Wraith was as beautiful to look at as he was terrible to behold. Maybe he was even as beautifully formed as he was evil,but that was certainly open to debate. Were she an artist, she probably would have spent hours sketching him. One of the other RNs, Tsuki Yamagata, was an artist, and she had already sketched Shi Aka for three hours the day before. Emily wondered how Shi Aka liked all the extra attention. Maybe Tsuki just made him hungry. Come to think of it, were Emily in Shi Aka's possition, Tsuki might look like grade A beef cattle to her. That was not a comfortable thought.

Camilla Crawford, Captain Crawford's sister, was an artist and cartographer. Shi Aka would surely have met his match in her, were he so foolish as to go after her. Camilla had red-brown hair and hazel eyes, she was altogether unremarkable except for her height. She was almost six feet tall. Camilla's mission was to map the planets the team visited and to journal what the indigenous climates, animals, and peoples were like. Emily wondered how Shi Aka would react to her own touch, if the Wraith were really so heartless. Jerhun's hand gripped her shoulder.

"I would that you could get that close, but Shi Aka and I have an agreement. He won't eat you if you content yourself with just looking." he said gently.

Shi Aka's firey eyes seemed to flare for a moment, then he turned away.

Emily accepted that this interview was over, and allowed Jerhun to lead her out of there.

Camilla was seated in a chair next to the glass when Emily was leaving, and she had a drawing tablet in her lap, with a whole box of three hundred colored pencils.

Emily felt tired, and headed to her dwelling.

* * *

Camilla tapped the glass lightly, drawing Shi Aka's attention to herself. Shi Aka came to the glass, recognizing the tall, proud woman. She had come to this window every night since the day he was captured. He'd come to trust her in a sense.

"Hello, Shi Aka. You look better today, no headaches?" she said softly.

Shi Aka's sharp hearing caught her words, and he replied as best he could that he did feel better.

"Want to see your picture?" she asked, flipping through the drawing tablet.

Shi Aka nodded eagerly, this human intrigued him. Camilla found the picture and held it up to the glass for Shi Aka to appraise. In the drawing, Shi Aka was hanging upside down from one of the bars on the wall, like had had been doing to amuse himself the day before. Camilla put her hand up on the glass opposite Shi Aka's. She knew how much the Wraith liked that. Shi Aka loved the warmth of a human's palms, it felt so nice. After interacting with the captive Wraith for almost half an hour, Camilla glanced at her watch.

"It's late, Shi Aka, you should go to sleep now. I'll see you tomorrow. Would you like the light off or on?"

"Off." rasped the creature behind the glass.

"Okay. Good night. Don't eat anything you shouldn't."

Shi Aka affected an innocent look. It basically said 'Now what are you talking about?"

"Anyway, see you tomorrow, Red."

Camilla turned out the light and left the room. Shi Aka obeyed her directive and went to bed.

In the darkness, Kamil was watching. A plot was beginning to form in her head, a plot to wreak her vengance on these humans and the Ancients who had held her captive for so long. Shi Aka would simply be a tool. She smiled wickedly. She was more intelegent than the Ancients had ever dreamed, more intelegent that Shi Aka easilly. Her vengance would be swift.


	6. Your Touch

_Stargate: Atlantis; The Alternate First Season_

_By WeaverOfDreams777_

Rating: PG-PG13

Genre:Action/Adventure

Disclaimer: I do not own _Stargate:SG1_ or _Stargate:Atlantis_.

Warning: This story is not meant to fit the storyline set forth by the producers of Stargate. It is AU, Alternate Universe. If you don't like that, don't review. You don't have to read it. I personally feel that _Stargate:Atlantis_ went down the toilet because the writers did not put forth the nessecary effort. The show is not new and different, it is merely a remake of SG1, and they need new writers and new storylines.

Chapter Six: Your Touch

The hand held out to him was one he knew well, and yet, he wasn't sure of whether to touch it or not. Camilla seemed non-threatening, but Shi Aka couldn't be sure. The removal of humans from his diet had made him a little more edgy and a little less sure of their intentions. And he hungered for one now. He had liked to feel the warmth of her hands on the glass, but he didn't have the glass between them now. Camilla clasped his wrist in her hand, and he liked the warmth that encircled his wrist now. His desire to taste human again was greater than his enjoyment of this one's touch. He turned to Camilla with that intent and was shocked to see her looking him in the eye.

"You will not eat me, Shi Aka, or you will really know what it is to feel pain."

He felt Camilla's fingers tighten on his wrist. She handed him some pencils and motioned him to a desk. A large piece of paper was laid out there.

"Alright, Shi Aka, let's see if you have any useful skills. Draw me the interior of a hive ship."

He had the distict impression that this woman was not one to be played with. A flash of her teeth had told him that she could put some brutal force behind them, and her fingers had long, tough nails that had dug like talons into his wrist. It was appaling that a human could instill a fear such as that in him, a Wraith.

The control panels and control surfaces began to appear under the pencil, as Shi Aka wracked his brain to do a decent rendering.

"You missed the throttle there." Camilla said, pointing out the ommission.

Shi Aka felt chills go up and down his spine.

"How do you know, witch?!"

"Oh, I know everything about you, my dear. I know the plans for you and I hold the reins in my hand. I know your destiny. Your future is in my grasp."

Her eyes were set like stone, and penetrated to the Wraith's mind.

He hated the thought that she could dominate him, and without warning, he sprang at her. Her fingernails tore at his throat, and her teeth immediately sought that area as well. He froze, never before had his prey turned predator, he had never been the hunted. He could feel her teeth as she started to bite down. He yielded, letting his own killing fingers drop. Her bite stopped short of injuring him. The shame of being pinned to the floor in fear of his life, and pinned by a human at that, burned itself on his memory. Mutual assured destruction was not an idea he was comfortable with.

Sheppard whistled, watching on closed circut camera.

"Watch her go, Beckett! She's definately getting more out of him than I could have!"

Beckett nodded.

"She's almost as ruthless as he is, Major, that's why. She's an eagle among doves."

"I know, but I can't help feeling that this is justified. After all, he would show us no mercy."

"You know Camilla can get out of control though, suppose she kills him without meaning to?"

"I don't think she will, Colonel Crawford has assured me that she should be fine."

It was too hot down here to keep all these layers of clothing on, so Jerhun pulled off his shirt, laying it aside. His slim, muscular body blended into the shadows, and if her eyesight had not been so keen as it was, Weir might never have seen him. She contemplated that such a gentle spirit was bound within such a powerful body, pondering the irony. He was still tinkering with the Atlantis Stargate's ZPM, constantly improving upon it. The improvements were continuously manifested in the repaired earth-bound ZPMs.

By the time the two modules made it to Earth, Jerhun would likely have perfected them. Weir wondered if Jerhun would go with the modules. She knew how much that nerd, Dr. Jackson, would enjoy Jerhun's company, but she honestly didn't feel that they could spare Jerhun themselves. They needed him for so many things. She considered the idea that she'd have to tell Dr. Jackson sooner or later that he would have to come here because Jerhun wasn't coming to him. She knew that she personally couldn't let go of Jerhun, he seemed to have grown on all the original team members, he was almost universally a dear son. He had a way of doing that, originally he had been a curiousity to be studied, but now he was a friend, a companion.

Weir really didn't want to think of where the expedition would be without him. Jerhun was humming to himself, and the strains of music drifted back to Weir. It sounded like one of Beethoven's Symphonies. She smiled distantly at the mental pictures that the music created. Classical music was so beautiful. The music stopped, and Jerhun sighed, lifting the ZPM to put it back on the dolly. It had gotten bigger, that ZPM. It was over 50 pounds now, with all the extra relays and capacitators. It did work much better though, and Jerhun had spent today miniaturizing some of the circuts and relays. He was trying to shave off pounds so that it was easilly transportable. Jerhun had managed to get it down from 80 pounds to 60, and given enough time, he would probably get it down to about twenty. He had all the upgrades done, now there was only the matter of making them smaller. Little improvements were being made along the way, as well. It never ceased to amaze Weir and the rest of the team that Jerhun could do all of this without his sight.

Jerhun yawned and turned to hook the ZPM back up to the stargate. He was tired, but Weir could not help but admire the breadth of his shoulders and how well muscled they were. It was nice not to have to aid a technician in the physical aspect of his work. Jerhun pulled his shirt back on and headed off to bed. Weir was soon headed in roughly the same direction. She was bushed too.

Camilla headed for bed, leaving Shi Aka to himself for the night. She didn't see Kamil slink over to the door and sneak in to the cell. Shi Aka was asleep, and Kamil crept closer in the darkness, her cold eyes shining cruelly. Shi Aka woke with a start, and a struggle ensued. There could be only one victor.

In moments, a still form lay on the floor, never to move again. Another stood vaunting over it, eyes gleaming.

Jerhun was awakened from a heavy slumber by Captain Crawford dragging him out of bed. Colonel Crawford and Major Sheppard where there, he could feel it. Lieutenant Ford was somewhere nearby. They dragged him somewhere, they turned to many times for him to really know where.

"How could you do it, Jerhun? We were finally learning something about Wraith-kind, and you killed out only reference object!" Crawford bellowed.

"What? I don't understand... Where is Shi Aka?" Jerhun asked, his voice sleepy and confused.

"He's at your feet, boy, at least what's left of him," Sheppard said.

"What do you mean? I don't understand what you're saying, I don't have the use of my sight, and since you are holding me to tightly to use my sense of touch, I cannot process what you are trying to tell me..." Jerhun said.

"You needn't touch. Shi Aka's bones are all over the floor. You ate him!" Crawford accused.

"No, I don't have the ability to do that. I'm only a quarter Wraith. Are you sure Shi Aka isn't loose? Might not they be Kamil's bones?" Jerhun sounded worried about both Shi Aka and Kamil.

"You're bluffing," Sheppard said. "You harbor a grudge against me for your blindness. You killed the Wraith to spite me."

"No! Would I have risked my life alongside yours just to capture a Wraith to kill for sport to spite you?" Jerhun exclaimed.

"I don't think he did it," Ford interjected. "He has no real motive. If he was going to kill Shi Aka, he would have done it right away. And we still don't know where Kamil is. We have to consider her too, she's more a Wraith than he is."

"What we really need is to determine if these are Shi Aka's bones or not." Sheppard conceeded.

Shoving Jerhun into a corner of the room, they locked him in.

Jerhun curled up in the corner and wept. Why was it that no matter how hard he tried to please these humans that he was the first suspected in a crime? He had tried so hard in the past months, it wasn't fair. These humans had no sense of justice. His long fingers were enmeshed in his long curls, as he fought to regain his composure. Hot tears spilled down his cheeks and dripped off his chin.

Camilla's heart wrenched within her as she watched Jerhun cry. She couldn't believe he was accused of killing Shi Aka. Jerhun was not the right type to have done that. She herself could have done it, but not in the manner it had been done. Her features hardened.

_'I'll bet it was that she-devil, Kamil.'_ she thought. _'She would be my prime suspect.'_

She sketched Jerhun in all his anguishing beauty, contemplating the loss of their captive enemy. The crystal tears were hardest to capture. They shone like diamonds, and Jerhun's locks shone like dark rubies, his skin pearlescent. Jerhun was so alien, yet so familiar. So beautiful, yet so plain. Jerhun himself was a contradiction. She felt sorry for him.

Jerhun had spent most of his life misunderstood, she knew from the data on record that he hadn't led a blissful existence. The situation that had resulted in the loss of his sight was a ridiculous example of predjudice and irrational fear. Sheppard and Weir couldn't make up their minds on whether he was friend or foe. Camilla tried to think of a way to get him out of there.

Gonfalon! She would tell Gonfalon! Gonfalon would not allow his son to be held without just cause. She left Jerhun to find Gonfalon.

Gonfalon was still asleep, so she woke him, whispering to him about what had happened. Gonfalon rose in a rage, pulling his robes on and stalking to the containment cell. Jerhun was still curled up in the corner, but quiet and calm now. His head rested on his arm, and he was sleeping, apparantly resigned to his fate. Gonfalon entered the cell and carefully picked up his son, trying not to wake him.

Kamil sauntered by, only to be jumped by Camilla. Kamil was shoved into the containment cell in Jerhun's place. She gnashed her teeth, furious. She flew at the window, clawing it, trying to get at Camilla. Kamil became more hideous and wraith-like with each passing second. Kamil was never one to take it mildly when her will was crossed. Her pupils became slitted, and Camilla really began to fear that she had wakened a monster. Gonfalon watched Kamil in suprise, as she showed herself for the slavering Wraith she was.

Sheppard, Crawford, Ford, and Weir came back with DNA tests to show the bones were Shi Aka's.

"I believe we have caught your culprit." Camilla said, motioning to the insane individual who was clawing at the glass. Kamil hissed at Sheppard angrilly, throwing herself at the glass in his direction.

"We don't know that it was her, although the fact that she's obviously lost it might work against her." Colonel Crawford said.

"Lar, I know beyond a reasonable doubt that Jerhun didn't do it. He's not capable of that sort of cruelty. You know very well that he's too sensetive and too gentle to have done it. No one knows anything about Kamil, we don't even know if she's a hostile or not. I do know that there is no love lost between her and the Ancients, and she has no affection for Gonfalon or his kin either."

"You may be right, but it doesn't prove anything." Sheppard said.

"Think of how faithfully Jerhun has served the Atlantis team, especially you, Major. Would he turn on you overnight? He doesn't strike me as a creature who could turn on his friends so easilly. Did he fight you when you dragged him out of bed? No, he didn't. He didn't understand that there was anything wrong, he trusted you." Camilla accused. "And there have been better opportunities for him to exact revenge, if you think that's his motive. Like when you tested the ZPM. He could have stranded you beyond the event horizon in the wormhole if he'd wanted, but he didn't."

Understanding dawned on the listeners. They'd been too ready to suspect treachery from within, and hadn't considered Kamil for a moment.

They needed a new Wraith. This time the S.E.A.L. team would go along, for extra security. Gonfalon warned that they needed to take Jerhun this time as well, else the party was doomed to fail.

When PJ1 and PJ2 landed on the planet's surface, the two teams went their separate ways. The S.E.A.L.s went their way, Sheppard, Ford, Jerhun, and their party went theirs.

Wraith began stalking the team led by Sheppard. The Wraith were in turn stalked by the S.E.A.L.s. The Wraith captured Sheppard and his men. The S.E.A.L.s prepared to go into the hive on a S.A.R. mission, unwilling to ruin their perfect record of no man left behind.


	7. Dance of the Stars

_Stargate: Atlantis; The Alternate First Season_

_By WeaverOfDreams777_

Rating: PG-PG13

Genre:Action/Adventure

Disclaimer: I do not own _Stargate:SG1_ or _Stargate:Atlantis_.

Warning: This story is not meant to fit the storyline set forth by the producers of Stargate. It is AU, Alternate Universe. If you don't like that, don't review. You don't have to read it. I personally feel that _Stargate:Atlantis_ went down the toilet because the writers did not put forth the nessecary effort. The show is not new and different, it is merely a remake of SG1, and they need new writers and new storylines. The Melodrama is killing me.

Chapter Seven: Dance of the Stars

When Sheppard woke up, his head throbbed, he felt nauseous, and his chest ached dully. Beckett was standing over him, and he was slowly realizing that he was in the infirmary. He couldn't remember how he'd gotten there, or even how he'd been injured.

"Beckett?" he murmured. "What the hell happened to me?"

"You don't remember, sir?" Beckett said in surprise.

"No... Should I?" Sheppard asked, already confused.

"Captain Crawford rescued you and your party from the Wraith. He said one of them was going to eat you, but it couldn't get past Jerhun, and it didn't like the taste of Jerhun," Beckett said. "He saved your life in a way, I guess."

"Sure sounds like it. So why am I here?"

"Well, you have a grade two concussion, and you had a collapsed lung."

"That explains why my head is swimming...." Sheppard sighed, his hands going to his forehead. "Where's Jerhun? Tinkering on a ZPM?"

At this, Beckett's face fell. Sheppard felt a shiver of dread go down his spine.

"He's not... dead, is he?" Sheppard whispered.

Beckett shook his head.

"No, but his head wasn't as hard as yours was. He has a grade three concussion, and we don't know if he'll ever wake up. He also didn't fare as well as you on the trip back. The Wraith were firing at the Puddle Jumper, and the pilot had to use evasive manuvers. You're heavier than Jerhun, and you landed on him."

"Where is he?"

Beckett motioned across the room to a rather well bandaged figure. Tsuki Yamagata was standing beside him, checking his pulse.

Sheppard closed his eyes to block out the image. Jerhun could not be lying there unconscious, he simply couldn't be. They needed him healthy, there were so many things that only he could fix if something went wrong.

"Beckett, please tell me that's not really Jerhun."

"I would if I could, Major."

"How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad. You showed signs of consciousness as soon as they brought you here, he hasn't shown any signs of consciousness, and it's been three days."

"No, I mean what's wrong with him? Other than the concussion?"

"Well, your rock head smashed his cheekbone and fractured his jaw, and somehow you broke some of his ribs in addition to that. He had a punctured lung."

Sheppard blanched, remembering that Jerhun couldn't be given drugs.

"Maybe he's still out because you couldn't drug him?"

"Actually, we got lucky, we found some that he didn't react so severely to. He ran a low fever for a day, but he's been fine since, relatively speaking."

Sheppard sighed in defeat.

"What are his chances?"

"Not great. But he could pull through, I think he will. HCSC Carlson thinks so too."

"I don't remember that name, sorry." Sheppard said quietly

"He came with the reinforcements, kind of a package deal with the S.E.A.L.s. He's basicly a physician."

Sheppard nodded absently, having tired rather quickly.

"You'd best rest, sir." Beckett said, noting the Major's fatigue.

Sheppard lay back in the pillows, and was soon sound asleep.

* * *

Three days later, Sheppard was out of the infirmary, though still suffering from occaisional bouts of nausea and dizziness. Jerhun was still unconscious. His condition was cause for worry, they needed him. Although the fact that they couldn't give him pain killers was a rather daunting thought, they wanted him awake. They got their wish the following morning, when Jerhun awoke, his eyes brilliant with pain. He looked directly at Beckett, and Beckett could hear his questions in his head. Beckett started breathing hard, he had no answers for Jerhun. Much as Weir wanted Jerhun to be awake and talking, Beckett couldn't imagine having him fully awake under these circumstances.

Jerhun was quiet and groggy when Sheppard came to visit him.

Jerhun actually followed Sheppard with his eyes, something he hadn't done in a while.

"Hey. I figured you'd be bored if you had nothing to tinker with, so here are some old circut boards from the consoles up front. Weir has put all gate travel on indefinite hold because you can't monitor it, so we're not using the consoles. She said we could bring you some circut boards to tinker with." Sheppard said softly.

Jerhun reached out to touch the circut board, as if unsure it were real. Then he reached for Sheppard's hand, wanting to assure himself that it was in fact the major who sat beside him.

'Thank you, Major Sheppard.' Sheppard could hear it in his head.

Sheppard tried not to think about how tired, weak, and worn Jerhun looked.

'Major, you look tired.' Jerhun said, waiting for the statement to sink in.

Understanding dawned on Sheppard.

'You can see again?' Sheppard thought.

'Your rock head must have done me some good.' said Jerhun, a smile beginning to turn up the corners of his mouth.

Sheppard didn't know what to think or say. For Jerhun to have regained his sight in the seven days he'd been unconscious, that was a miracle within a miracle, for it was a miracle that he was even awake.

"B-beckett! Come here!" Sheppard exclaimed.

Jerhun winced, inhaling sharply, as the loudness of Sheppard's voice drove a lance of pain through his temples. Inhaling sharply like that made his ribs hurt, and quite honestly he was a mess. He just stayed very still for a moment, holding his breath. He slowly let his breath out as Sheppard realized what was going on.

"Please, don't yell like that." Jerhun asked quietly.

At first Sheppard thought he was clenching his teeth because of pain, but then he remembered that Jerhun really had no choice in the matter. Sheppard felt foolish for having thoughtlessly caused Jerhun pain.

Sheppard quickly and quietly related the good news to Beckett, sparing Jerhun the trouble.

"Lord! Who would have thought that a blow to the head could cure him?" Beckett mused. He rested his hand on Jerhun's head.

Jerhun closed his eyes under the cool weight of Beckett's touch, letting it soothe his headache. He whispered something in another language, piqueing Beckett's curiousity.

"What did you say?" asked Beckett, his heavy scotch accent softened as he tried not to aggravate Jerhun's headache.

"You have healing fingers, Doctor Beckett." Jerhun sighed. "Your hands are cold."

Sheppard sat silently, considering the remark. Cold objects often did soothe pain, maybe there was something to it. Beckett was slightly taken aback.

"Well, you know what they say, Doc, cold hands, warm heart." Sheppard said.

Jerhun smiled, his eyes still closed.

"There may be something to that, Major Sheppard. You should look into it."

Sheppard got the gentle hint in Beckett's face, understanding that Jerhun was tired and would probably fall asleep any minute. He left the room, turning the latest developments over in his mind.

* * *

Jerhun was trying to get up by the following morning, though very unsteady because of his injuries. He was able to make it to the gate room with Beckett's help, much to Weir's astonishment. One of the technicians quickly pulled a chair over to the wavering hybrid, not wanting him to fall. Technicians gathered around him, all relieved that their 'Patron Saint', as they called him, was recovered enough to rejoin the clan. Weir smiled from across the room as it became clear that Jerhun could actually see the people clustered around him.

"Alright, break it up. Gentlemen, I am sure we are glad to have Jerhun back, but we have work to do, back to your posts!" Weir finally ordered. She shoved Jerhun's computer chair from behind, steering him toward a console. Jerhun immediately fell to the task at hand.

"It's good to have you back, Jerhun." Weir said softly, kissing the top of his head.

The gate powered up and the PJ1 glided through it, with the S.E.A.L.s and Gonfalon on board. Jerhun started plugging away at some security codes, opening the gate on the other side. If the time delay was just right, the gate would only be open long enough for the PJ1 to pass through it. In this way, the gate could be left 'open' for a while, but would really only be open to the PJ1. Even if the time delay wasn't just right, the PJ1 would get through, it just wouldn't have its backside covered. Dr. Zilenka called to Jerhun.

"The puddle jumper two, would you like to work on it? We need help to repair the damage."

Jerhun looked to Weir, who granted permission. Beckett and Sheppard went with him.

Jerhun reveled in the fact that he could see the circuts in front of him. He pulled out the damaged boards, considering their pathways and capacitors.

"Dr. Zilenka, I have spare circut boards like these, they should work until we fix or replace these." Jerhun said. "The circut boards I have are just further miniaturized. The Ancients foresaw this possibility and tried to make the boards almost universal. Only the Stargate boards are different."

Zilenka seemed surprised.

"Very well, I will have someone go get your box."

Jerhun smiled inwardly.

"You'd best send two people, the box is heavy."

Zilenka raised an eyebrow, but did as he said.

Jerhun waited until Zilenka turned around, then turned to Sheppard.

"I would get it myself, but I can't right now. The box weighs more than these techies want to lug, about eighty pounds."

Sheppard snorted, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, best send the S.E.A.L.s after that box!" he chuckled.

Beckett grinned. Zilenka turned around to see what was going on, and they all tried to look innocent.

Beckett and Sheppard were both thinking, 'you don't see us laughing', and Jerhun was thinking along the same lines. Which meant that Zilenka really didn't see them laughing, since Sheppard and Beckett both had the Ancient gene and Jerhun was, after all, half Ancient. They were snickering, which Zilenka could hear, but for all the snickering, he saw them sitting there perfectly serious.

The box came back and the three set to work unwrapping the boards that were needed. Jerhun told Sheppard where to put them, and Sheppard popped them in. The three kept up a soft banter the whole time, discussing everything from circut boards to girls. Jerhun confessed that he's once loved an Ancient girl, but he had never seen her since he'd awoken from stasis. He described her to Beckett and Sheppard, who in turn told him about the human girls who'd been a big part of their lives. Their light hearted banter was largely ignored by those around them.

When PJ2 was fixed and operational, Jerhun had an idea.

"Why don't we go to the surface to see the stars tonight? Have you ever seen our constellations?"

"No, we haven't seen the stars around here. That sounds like a lot of fun. What do you say, Doctor Beckett?"

"I saw why not surface the whole colony? People are getting claustrophobic down here. And many would welcome the fresh air."

Jerhun thought about it.

"But the way the colony rushed to the surface before scared everyone." said Sheppard.

"There is a way to surface the colony more slowly, and I dare say it's easier on the structures." Jerhun put in. "If I do it right, no one will notice we're moving until we're on the surface."

Sheppard and Beckett turned to him.

"How can we help?" they asked in the same breath.

"Get Dr. Weir out of the gate room. Then I can do it and run. If I leave the force fields up we're impervious to attack."

Beckett and Sheppard rushed off to do it, while Jerhun followed more slowly, trying to keep his balance and not get dizzy or fall. When he got to gate room, it was virtually unmanned. He walked over to a console and punched in a few codes, then flipped a switch, and was done. He left the room slowly and deliberately, feeling the tiny lurch of the city as it lifted off of the ocean bottom. He felt that occaisionally surfacing the city was important for all the humans living there, they were not suited to life under the sea.

"How did it go?" asked a breathless Beckett.

"Fine. We'll be moving at about a 1/2 fathom a minute, which with so far to go, will feel like nothing. I doubt the technicians will give it a thought."

Beckett smiled.

"Where's the Major?" Jerhun asked.

Beckett dissolved into laughter.

"Dr. Weir has him!" he laughed. "He's never going to be able to live this one down!"

"What is she doing to him?" Jerhun asked.

"Beating him with a warm cold compress!"

"That's an oxymoron."

"No, the compress is supposed to be cold, but it's been left out of the freezer too long, so it's warm now."

"And she's beating him with it?"

"Avoiding his head and his ribs of course."

"Ai! Dr. Weir really is a strange woman."

* * *

The constellations were beautiful, and it had been a while since anyone had seen the stars. It was almost worth Weir's anger. Weir was actually happy to see the midnight blue sky, she was just worried about being attacked. One of the artists, the wildlife artist, Abigail Winthrop, was leaning over the rail, watching the stars overhead.

"The stars are doing their great dance, and every mouth will sing the glories of my God and King." she whispered to the open night sky.

"Shut up, you religious nut." spat Cavanaugh. "God doesn't exist."

Jerhun frowned, and Gonfalon did likewise.

"How do you know there isn't a God?" Gonfalon asked. "And who are you to mock another's beliefs?"

Cavanaugh snorted.

"You Ancients aren't so advanced after all. You should be at least that enlightened." he said condescendingly.

"If it weren't for the fact that I met God face to face, I might believe you." Jerhun said quietly, gently tossing small stones into the water.

"Met God face to face? How could you have met a being that doesn't exist?" Cavanaugh mocked. "You were in stasis too long."

Jerhun's eyes reflected the starlight in their depths as he looked at Cavanaugh.

"I used to think as you do. Then God stepped in and made Himself very real to me. Have you ever been unconscious for a long period of time, Cavanaugh?"

"Well no, but I don't see..."

"It's frightening. You can hear every word said about you when the doctors are bending over you. All you can see is emptiness, though. But if you look really hard, eventually you see yourself, the way you really are. I did. I was so ugly, I was a Wraith deep down there. I was the very thing I hated and feared. Novel concept, isn't it?"

"Are you a religious freak too?"

"Hardly. I hate religion. No good comes of it."

"Then how can you believe in God?"

"Would you believe that Miss Winthrop has a lovely singing voice? You should hear her sometime."

"You're dodging the subject."

"Was I? Sorry. But I saw God, Mr. Cavanaugh, whether you believe He is real or not, I know for certain He exists. If He didn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Beckett paled.

"I think I know what you're talking about..." he whispered. "When we almost lost you while trying to inflate your lung... Your heart stopped for a bit, I was almost certain you were gone..."

Cavanaugh looked dubiously at Beckett as he continued.

"We were going to use the portable defibrillator, but before we had the paddles on you, McKay yelled 'stop!', your heartbeat was back on the monitor."

"I'm really not sure, all seven of those days blend together. I just know it happened." Jerhun said. "What I'm trying to say, Cavanaugh, is that you should not look down upon the people around you who believe in God. They may actually be wiser than you. Did not one of your own Earth scientists, Blaise Pascal, say that it is better to know God and there be no afterlife, than to disbelieve God and spend eternity in hell?"

Jerhun put an arm around Abigail Winthrop.

"Continue." he prompted.

She looked at him in astonishment.

"Sometimes, quite honestly, you are a most frightening creature, Jerhun." she said, moving away.

Jerhun shrugged an went back to pointing out constellations to Sheppard.

Gonfalon raised an eyebrow, considering Jerhun's actions. And Abigail's actions too. Of all the newcomers, Abigail was dearest to Gonfalon himself, she often reminded him of a young child, and taking her under his wing came naturally. Abigail came over to Gonfalon and stood in his shadow, while the Ancient towered over her four foot, eleven inch frame.

"Don't listen to Cavanaugh, Abigail. He's a blow hard. You are so much better at what you do than he could ever be, and he should not disrespect your faith."

"I know. But what's with Jerhun? Why is he so possessive? I do not belong to him, I wish he'd leave me alone."

"He's possessive? No moreso with you than with anyone else. I daresay he's more possessive with Beckett."

"Really? I guess it's not such a problem then. I just feel like he follows me too much."

Gonfalon laughed.

"No, he doesn't. Unless you're on another planet, and then it's his job. Better he follow you than a Wraith, no?"

Abigail smiled, allowing Gonfalon to pull her against his side in a fatherly embrace.

"Don't worry about it, Abigail. If he does it is with no ill intent, maybe you should talk to him, tell him he's bothering you. I'm certain he would stop, if you asked it of him. Maybe he just plain likes you, you're a brilliant girl, and he seems to like you intellegent girls best."

* * *

Weir looked longingly at Gonfalon and Abigail. It had been a long time since anyone had hugged her like that, a long time since anyone had demonstrated a paternal affection to her. She missed it, admittedly. She thought it was beautiful, how Gonfalon seemed to take everyone to him like a father with many children. She admired that he cared about the younger women on the expedition, he was always looking out for them. She watched Gonfalon set Abigail on his knee as he pointed out various constellations and nebulae.

She got an urge to go over and join them. Her feet involuntarilly obeyed this thought, and soon she was at Gonfalon's side.

"May I join in the astronomy lesson?" she asked quietly.

Gonfalon smiled and nodded, patting his other knee.

"I would suppose that is why God gave me two knees, to teach both of you at the same time!"

It made an interesting picture, forty-something Elizabeth Weir on one knee, twenty-something Abigail Winthrop on the other, listening to a lecture given by a being in excess of ten thousand years old. Soon both were leaning back against Gonfalon's chest to get a better view of the sky.

"It's getting rather late, the moons have risen. That means all you beautiful women should go to bed before the moon becomes jealous of your radiance." Gonfalon said, matter-of-factly.

To Gonfalon, as blunt as he could be, women were beautiful, and something to be carefully guarded and protected. He praised them often, which Weir was learning to like. She did not like false praise, but she knew Gonfalon was not trying to be flattering. He just saw the little things that he deemed praiseworthy.


	8. Fish Tales

_Stargate: Atlantis; The Alternate First Season_

_By WeaverOfDreams777_

Rating: PG-PG13

Genre:Action/Adventure

Disclaimer: I do not own _Stargate:SG1_ or _Stargate:Atlantis_.

Warning: This story is not meant to fit the storyline set forth by the producers of Stargate. It is AU, Alternate Universe. If you don't like that, don't review. You don't have to read it. I personally feel that _Stargate:Atlantis_ went down the toilet because the writers did not put forth the nessecary effort. The show is not new and different, it is merely a remake of SG1, and they need new writers and new storylines. The Melodrama is killing me.

Interesting idea, but I'm thinking this might become Weir/OC. No slash though, just plain male/female. See if you can figure out the pairing. ;-)

Chapter Eight: Fish Tales

Weir knew she'd slept later than usual, they all had. Somehow, being able to look at the stars last night had been an unusual experience. It had been a rather long time since the team had seen the Pegasus galaxy stars, and the newcomers hadn't seen them at all until last night. It felt like a lazy sort of day right now, the sun was glittering on the water, it was early in the morning yet, and it looked like liquid gold as far as the eye could see. Gonfalon and Ford were laughing as they lowered a boat into the waters, joking about something. Captain Crawford joined them, carrying what looked like fishing poles.

"What are you three doing?" Weir called down from her balcony.

"Going fishing!" Ford replied. "We should find out if anything here is edible before we actually have to."

Weir rolled her eyes.

"You just want an excuse to leave the city with the boys." she said.

"Well, yeah, pretty much." Sheppard replied, joining the group.

"Bring me back a salmon. You aren't taking Jerhun with you, are you?" Weir asked.

"No, he's with Beckett. Beckett said Jerhun couldn't come with us, so he's helping Beckett catalog the drawings Miss Winthrop did of the wildlife." Crawford said.

Weir sighed.

"Fine, enjoy your fishing trip." she said.

"We will!" the four chorused.

* * *

Sheppard let out a sigh of relief as he stepped into the boat.

"I thought she would never shut up!" he sighed, to no one in particular.

Ford nodded his agreement.

"Well, enough of that! Let's land some big fish!" Crawford said eagerly.

Gonfalon laughed.

"Yes, let's. We have pretty nearly all the same fish here as you have on your Earth. Many are edible species, and,' here Gonfalon winked, 'there are some rather large marlins. Let's see what we can catch."

Crawford and Sheppard immediately started baiting their fishing hooks as the boat skimmed along the water. When they reached a nice spot, they stopped the boat, and cast their lures. Ford and Gonfalon snickered at the two ranking officers as they cast a net over the side.

Sheppard and Crawford weren't getting any bites. Gonfalon and Ford started pulling up the net. It was heavy, and it was thrashing. The net was teeming with fish when they pulled it aboard, and their silver scales glittered as they spilled across the bottom of the boat.

"They look like tuna, how did you guys get so lucky?" Sheppard asked in indignation.

Gonfalon and Ford laughed.

"We simply had a better idea." Ford said.

Ford and Gonfalon let down the net again, and Sheppard's line began to pay out.

Crawford and Ford had to help him hold onto the rod as the fish he'd hooked fought him.

Sheppard was very relieved that they'd used heavy fishing lines when he finally brought the marlin alongside. He hit it over the head with a paddle and the four of them hauled it into the boat. Crawford's jaw dropped. Gonfalon frowned.

"What a pity. You got one of the small ones. Throw it back." he sighed.

Sheppard looked at Gonfalon in disbelief.

"Gonfalon! This monster is twelve and a half feet long! What do you mean, throw it back?!"

"I've seen much larger ones, but I guess you could use him as bait. You'll need a net though, that rod won't do it."

Sheppard refused to throw his prize back. Crawford caught an enourmous seabass. Ford and Gonfalon continued to pull shining tuna up in the net. Finally, Sheppard caught a large salmon, a peace offering for Weir. The ice that they'd brought along was enough to keep the fish cold and fresh, and finally, Crawford declared that they'd best head back before the ice melted. The outboard motor hummed along as they headed back to the city.

* * *

Weir rubbed her forehead in agitation. She should have been more awake before she'd let anyone go fishing. All the commanding officers were out on that boat, and she needed them now. Cavanaugh was being an imbecile again, and his research team was about ready to throttle him. Beckett was running around like a crazy person trying to find a missing drawing. Miss Winthrop was trying to find Beckett. All hell had broken loose since the officers and Gonfalon had left.

Only Jerhun wasn't driving her nuts. He was an oasis of peace in the middle of some very hectic proceedings. Weir finally collapsed into a chair beside him.

"How do you do it? How do you keep from going nuts with all these people rushing around you and asking you questions?" she demanded.

He smiled.

"I watch you." he said. "You handle it well also, so why ask me how it's done?"

"You watch me? Jerhun, I am stressed! With a capital S!" she cried.

"I know that, but not everyone else does. You can handle it, I know that. Take a break, eat your lunch, and then worry about it, but don't think about everything you have to do until you're done. And today, take your time eating your lunch." he said. "I'll be the motivator for now."

The boat motored up alongside the city, and the huge mass under the tarpaulin was a good clue to the success of the fishing trip. Some of the S.E.A.L.s pulled Sheppard's huge Marlin up with obvious awe. Sheppard presented the cold, wet, forty pound salmon to Weir with a proud flourish.

"Your salmon, madam." he laughed.

Weir started to laugh. The amount of fish was almost staggering, and they were huge fish, as well. The tuna spilled across the decking as they were dumped from the boat. Teyla and her people seized upon the opportunity and started gutting the fish. Sheppard and Crawford managed to put the marlin in a freezer, and Gonfalon made sure it became encased in ice.

Beckett shook his head in bewilderment as the smallest tuna was weighed in at three hundred pounds.

"Get the SGC on the horn, we need a bigger boat!" Sheppard cackled.

Gonfalon laughed.

"Under the city there are sixty foot boats, how big do you need? We could fashion a twin-hulled craft from them."

Crawford grinned.

"We'll have our own little fishing fleet."

"I suppose I know what's for dinner." Jerhun said. "Tuna, and lots of it."

Weir turned to him.

"You cook, I know you do, so can you cook up this salmon? I know what I want for lunch!"

Everyone laughed.

"After a few months, MREs get kinda boring." McKay agreed.

Jerhun rolled up his sleeves and fell to scaling and gutting the massive salmon.

"I have one question for you, Gonfalon. Why are the fish here so big?" Weir asked.

"Because they've not been harvested for a very long time and the waters are not polluted. They've always been rather large on this planet. My grandfather told me of catching salmon the size of these tuna, they were very popular. We've never taken more than we needed from these waters, we had to ensure that things would last."

* * *

Weir savored the fresh salmon. The meat was cooked to perfection, and seasoned just right. She could really get to like this. Apparantly the atlanteans had been a fishing culture, because they had sure kept a lot of fish-related knowlege in circulation. She wondered if there were any beaches on which to collect clams. She liked to sit here on this balcony and watch the sun set. It was beautiful. Weir was beginning to think of Atlantis as home.

It was really strange, but being on that little island, and seeing clear, blue waters all around you, no longer felt threatening. It wasn't like being cast adrift anymore, it was sort of like having a hiding place that no one else knew about. The sunlight on the water was magical, the whole place had a rather mystical feel to it. Zilenka had explained that the colony's energy needs were much less when surfaced, less need for lights, less demand for power from the forcefields, it all added up. Being on the surface was ideal. It certainly helped the residents of Atlantis not to become claustrophobic. Most of the city was populated now, which pleased Gonfalon no end. It was more like when he'd lived here, so very long ago.

And Jerhun seemed so happy among the humans. Weir smiled, thinking of Jerhun bustling around in the kitchen, preparing food that he couldn't eat due to his jaw. She'd asked if that bothered him, and he'd laughed, explaining that not only did it not bother him, he loved to cook! The various cuts of tuna and sea bass were no mystery to him, and he was all for cooking to order. Everyone liked the fish just a little bit differently cooked or prepared, and he welcomed the challenge. Tsuki Yamagata and some others in the Asian/Japanese community wanted sushi, so they had been in the kitchen as well, since Jerhun had no idea how to prepare that. Weir had been absolutely not interested in eating sushi.

Some of the others were thrilled, thinking of all the other types of marine life that could be harvested. And Sheppard was excited by the idea of sushi as well. Weir secretly wondered if 'sushi' meant literally 'dead fish'.

* * *

Gonfalon was pointing out some constellations to Weir as she tried to map them with a digital camera. Her photo chip exhausted, she turned to Gonfalon himself.

"I'll bet your wife misses you." she said suddenly.

Gonfalon smiled distantly.

"No, but I miss her. I'll see her again someday." he sighed. "She has merely ascended to a realm where I can't follow. Both of them have. I wonder if they look down on their son with pride..."

"Both of your wives died?"

"My second wife died three years ago, giving birth to our daughter. My mother-in-law is raising her."

"You should be misserable! Why are you so happy?"

"In a way I am misserable. I miss them sorely, but I have confidence that I will see them again."

Weir was dumbfounded.

"Will you take another wife?"

Gonfalon shook his head.

"No, I have too much respect for the other women I know, I do not want to burden them with the reminders of the past. And I can't justify taking a wife now, I fear too much to lose another."

Weir looked at her feet, feeling silly for having asked that question. She really didn't know why she had. She had seen deeper into Gonfalon, she'd seen the warring emotions behind those bright eyes. Now she understood how hurt he'd been to find his son on the verge of death before. Gonfalon had done much in his life, earned much with his blood, sweat, and tears. Maybe that was why he seemed so eager to make sure the Atlantis colony clicked, he wanted them to stay, wanted new memories to replace the past ones.

Weir threw her arms around Gonfalon's neck from his back and hopped on like she was riding piggy back. He laughed, threatening to dump her over the balcony into the waters below. Every time he pretended to dump her over the edge she screached a bit and then started to giggle. Somehow, being around Gonfalon made one want to act like a little kid again. Sheppard, standing just inside, was watching, laughing so hard his face was flushed pink. Aiden Ford was covering his mouth to hide his laughter. Crawford grinned wickedly, then stepped out there as well. He knocked both Gonfalon and Weir into the water. They didn't have far to fall, and Weir immediately came up, sputtering. Gonfalon came up laughing, and helped Weir back onto the balcony.

Sheppard was rolling on the floor holding his sides, he was laughing so hard, and Aiden was bent over, clutching his stomach, laughing outright. Crawford was laughing as he handed Weir a towel. Wier accepted that the joke was on her and started to laugh as well as Gonfalon tried to squeeze the water out of his long blond hair.

"How's the water?" Sheppard gasped, tears of laughter running down his cheeks.

"It's lovely. No survival gear needed." Gonfalon said, then seized the Major and tossed him in. Sheppard hit the water head first, and found that it was in fact rather too cool for his liking. Ford and Crawford hit the water not much after Sheppard, and now Weir and Gonfalon were laughing down at them. Weir stuck her tongue out at them, then walked away. Gonfalon threw down a rope and hauled them back up, and the four sat laughing as they tried to get semi dry before going inside.

Sheppard sighed.

"I suppose I won't finish those calculations for McKay tonight." he said, leaning back and looking at the starshine on the water. "Much as I love mathematics, I can only sit there so long to stare at them. Math problems, I mean."

Gonfalon yawned and agreed.

"I like figures as well, but they are not meant to be one's constant companion."

"Yes, and they tend to multiply." Ford deadpanned.

His three companions groaned.

* * *

Jerhun felt positvely ill. Beckett had warned him that he had a major concussion and wouldn't feel well for a while, but he hadn't expected pounding headaches and loss of balance, or nausea brought on by merely walking, for that matter. He was lying in his bed right now with his aching head buried in the blanket, trying to shut out the light, which seemed to worsen the headache. His father had tried to help him, working with Beckett, but not much had done him good.

A voice drifted to him, joined by other voices. It sounded like Abigail Winthrop and the Israeli contingent.

I lift up my eyes

Unto the hills

From whence shall come

My Help

My Help is from

The Lord God

Maker of Heaven

And Earth

He will not give to the moving of your foot

Nor will slumber He who keeps thee

Behold, He'll not slumber

Nor will He sleep

He who keeps

Israel

Jerhun listened with half an ear. The synagogue chants were soothing, and he drifted into an easy slumber. When Gonfalon came back that evening, Jerhun was completely relaxed, and still sleeping. The sleep would probably help, since he wasn't fighting nausea and pain in that state. Gonfalon laid his hand on Jerhun's head, reaching into his son's mind, searching for any indication that Jerhun was worse that he'd been earlier. In fact, he seemed a good deal better.

Gonfalon sat writing in on a computer while Jerhun slept on. Gonfalon was writing down everything that happened in Atlantis, like a firsthand historian. He wrote it clearly and concisely, not mincing words. He was rather enjoying it, in fact.

* * *

Jerhun stirred slightly, the light filtering through the windows waking him. It amazed him every morning, this gift of sight. He couldn't wait until his jaw was healed enough that Beckett would unwire it, he wanted to try some of the fish that he now regularly cooked to feed the entire community. Weir lived in the upstairs room of the same dwelling that Gonfalon and Jerhun shared, it was a strange arrangement, but it sufficed. Weir didn't really like having no men in the household, she still saw them as a source of protection, no matter how feministic she may have been. So she lived in a single-parent household that was all male. It confused Sheppard, certainly.

It was Jerhun's job to wake Weir in the mornings, and he didn't exactly relish it. He slipped quietly up the steps to where Weir was sound asleep in her bed, then grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her till she woke up. Weir was not unknown to be slightly combative when first awakened, and more than once she'd given Jerhun a nice bruise as a reward for waking her. Jerhun had learned to jump just beyond her reach before she rolled over.

"Dr. Weir, it's time to get up..." he whispered.

She'd moan and complain, but eventually she'd drag herself out of bed.

Gonfalon would by now have fed Kamil, who was still locked up, and started to prepare breakfast. Weir would join the two rather religious Ancients for the morning meal, then they'd all get to the tasks to which they were assigned.

Sheppard shared a house with Crawford, Ford, McKay, and Beckett. The four bachelors were often at McKay's throat. Jerhun had a hunch that McKay would be making other arrangements soon. It was interesting, but though the city was nowhere near fully populated, up to five people would share one house. Usually they were all of the same gender and single, Gonfalon, Jerhun, and Weir were really the only exception.

Someone knocked on the door, and Jerhun went to answer it. McKay stood there with all his things, looking rather baffled.

"Shep kicked me out!" he said.

Jerhun wasn't really surprised. The mere sound of McKay's sarcastic voice annoyed him, personally.

"I suppose we'll have to find you alternate accomodations, then." he sighed.


End file.
